Routine dental cleaning

Dogs and cats have teeth just like humans. We have learned over the years that brushing our teeth is an important way to keep our teeth and gums healthy. Same thing goes for our dogs and cats.

Starting your puppy and kitten by brushing their teeth on a regular basis can make working with routine dental care easier. However, many people don’t start thinking about their pet’s teeth until they are older and they notice a lot of tartar on them. At that point (when there is excessive tartar and gum recession), your pet probably will need to have us clean and polish their teeth with our professional equipment before you start routine brushing.

Most dogs need their first dental cleaning around 2-4 years of age. Most cats need their first dental cleaning around 4-5 years of age. We have the same type of equipment to clean your pets’ teeth as your human dentist does, and the equipment does a good job helping their teeth look clean and white again. When you pick up your animal from their dental appointment, we will discuss various ways for you to help keep their gums and teeth in good shape so hopefully you won’t need another dental soon. However, if you don’t follow some guidelines, you may need to have their teeth cleaned and polished again in 1-2 years. We will help you keep an eye on your pets’ dental health.

Tooth decay and removal

Most of us humans know if we don’t brush our teeth on a regular basis, we will need to have teeth removed. The same thing happens with our dogs’ and cats’ mouths. If they don’t have good routine dental care, they will need to have loose or rotten teeth removed.

We have the same type of equipment to remove teeth in dogs and cats that your human dentist has to remove a human tooth. ALL dogs and cats that undergo a dental or tooth extraction are put under anesthesia for their comfort and the safety of our staff. They will be given pain medication during the procedure and also will be sent home with medication.

Most pets do well with tooth removal procedures and most clients tell us except for their breath smelling a whole lot better, their pet doesn’t even act like it had a tooth removed. Dogs have about 40 teeth in their mouth so losing a few usually doesn’t make it hard for them to eat dry dog food. Same thing with cats, even a couple teeth removed doesn’t hamper their ability to chew dry cat food.

News/Articles

Jocelynn Jacobs DVM, CVC Some of the common questions I get this time of year from many of my clients are, “How cold is too cold to leave my dog/cat outside?” and “How long can my pet stay outside in cold weather?” Unfortunately those questions don’t have black and...